To finish

Method

First make the jelly. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line with cling film (you can use the 23cm tin that you will bake the cake in, but you’ll have to make this the day before so that you can remove it before making the cake). Remove the zest from 4 of the oranges and set aside for the cake. Tip the orange juice and sugar into a saucepan and gently heat to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for a few mins until soft. Remove the gelatine from the water, squeeze out any excess and add to the warm orange juice, stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Pour the liquid into the lined cake tin and chill for at least 4 hrs or preferably overnight.

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and line a 23cm round cake tin with baking parchment. Tip all the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Spoon into the tin and smooth over the surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for 55 mins, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 mins, then invert onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Now make the ganache. Heat the cream in a small pan until hot. Put the chocolate in a small bowl and pour over the cream, leave for 10 mins, then mix well – you should be left with a smooth chocolate sauce. Leave at room temperature until the ganache cools and thickens a little (you can put it in the fridge to speed this up, but keep an eye on it, as it will set quickly).

To assemble the cake, place it on a cake stand and trim the top to give you a flat surface. Warm the apricot jam in the microwave until a little runny. Paint it over the top of the cake, then flip the orange jelly out of its tin, and position on top. Using a palette knife, swirl the chocolate ganache over the orange jelly, letting it dribble down the sides of the cake a little. Serve straight away or within 24 hours.

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Comments, questions and tips

I'm a beginner so I followed the method exactly.
Disaster. Cake was raw and the jelly and chocolate would not behave.
Not for beginners.

baking_beginner

4th Oct, 2017

3.8

Followed the recipe exactly, but decided to cut down the sugar in the cake to 200g and I didn't add any sugar to the jelly (my orange juice was quite sweet). I used two sachets of vege-gel instead of gelatine. Two sachets set the jelly perfectly. Oh and I used 5 medium eggs in the cake. Have to say the cake was pretty good even without as much sugar (although, if you're being indulgent, 250g would probably be perfect). The cooking time was a little longer than specified (a bit over an hour). Also totally forgot to add the jam to stick the jelly to the cake, but the jelly sat quite well on top of the cake regardless! The cake has a wonderful orange flavour, crumbly but not dry, and smells lovely. I made the ganache in a rush in the morning, but I felt that that part could definitely have been improved. The ganache did start to sort of melt off the jelly by the end of the day (perhaps this cake is better kept in the fridge before serving?). If I bake this again I might consider adding a mix of melted milk/dark chocolate on top, rather than making it into a ganache (not sure if the jelly would cause the chocolate to start to coagulate though)? Not a perfect recipe, but went down a treat.

Bexxt63

20th Jul, 2017

Alternative, bake the cake only as per above. Slice into three spread with orange curd. Sandwich together and cover with melted chocolate. I have tried plain chocolate with orange and almond, plain plus milk and white in layers. This lasts longer than ganash. A favourite with my colleagues!

eh476

15th Feb, 2017

5.05

absolutely delicious! I followed the advice on the comments section and used 8 sheets of gelatine instead of 6. Worked wonderfully. The orange sponge is so moist. Will definitely be making again.

lolupnorth

15th Jun, 2016

3.8

Oh my goodness, this is such an amazing cake! Having read the comments I worried about quantities. My orange juice only came to about 400 ml, so actually set just fine with 6 sheets of quality grade gelatine. I made the jelly and sponge a day in advance. For the ganache I only used about 150ml of cream, put in the fridge for 10 minutes and it set perfectly, no melting jelly etc.
It looks so impressive and the whole family have thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely make it again.

di_seymour

10th Apr, 2016

I made this for my nephew's 18th birthday with great success. Having read the previous comments I added two extra gelatine leaves to make the jelly a bit firmer. I also put a grease proof collar around the cake and popped it back in the springform tin before pouring the cooled ganache over it. This stopped the ganache running down the sides of the cake giving a neater finish. I then popped it in the fridge for an hour to set. The cake tasted amazing and everyone commented on how much they enjoyed it.

samanthajoshi

22nd Mar, 2016

OMG in heaven! This was a disaster! Just like everyone else the chocolate just slid off the jelly. It ended up looking a mess. Next time i will either put the jelly in the middle of 2 layers or implant the jelly into the top of the cake. But it was so distressing there probably wont be a next time! (it did taste good though)

aleadbet

27th Jul, 2015

5.05

I can't comment on the baking of the cake, but my mum just made this for my brother's birthday and it was FANTASTIC!!! She did have a bit of trouble with the ganache being a bit melty, but it WAS a record-breaking hot day! it melted a bit and ran down the cake, but after putting it in the fridge for a short time, the ganache firmed up a little and we were able to spread it around the sides of the cake. Reading other comments about difficulties making the jelly and problems with ganache, I would say persevere! The end result is a real show stopper and sooooo delicious, that for a special occasion it's well worth it!

helens2006

26th May, 2015

Nice BUT - I found the ganache too runny (perhaps less cream should be used?), and others have written the jelly slid off the cake (I don't know whether this was to do with the ganache or the fact that I put Jaffa Cake halves on top of the cake and pushed them down into the jelly slightly.
Otherwise I would leave out the jelly completely and use just apricot jam on top of the cake and then place ganache over the top.
If I was to do this recipe again I would cut a large circle into the top of the cake (a centimetre deep) and leave a border between the edge of the cake and cut out hole. I would then place the jelly in that hole, which would prevent it from sliding off the cake.
As for the ganache I would probably use 200ml of cream rather than 300ml or make a completely different icing recipe.

Brocket08

22nd Jan, 2015

Made this with a veggie gel sachet, for my daughters birthday Worked very well but the gel and cake kept on separating as it was served, not that it mattered as it tasted lovely. Perfect for fussy new vegetarian teenagers.

Pages

Has anybody made this in a 8" cake tin before?
Do you think it would be ok?
Thanks

pauline1441

23rd Feb, 2018

For future info, the mixture in two 8" tins on 160 degrees (not a fan oven) for 35mins was fine when I baked it today. I used 7 smaller oranges, all their rinds and the 500ml of juice from it with 8 sheets of gelatine. I made two jellies - the 8" to sandwich it together and 6" to top it before I try with half the cream for a firmer ganache than last time to cover.

goodfoodteam

4th Mar, 2017

Thanks for your question. Changing the tin size to a smaller one will make the cake deeper and therefore cooking time will need to be increased. The alternative would be to use slightly less of the mixture. We haven't tested this in a smaller tin so are unable to give you specific instructions. Where possible, we always suggest using the correct tin size to ensure best results.

ruthybeth12

18th Sep, 2013

A vegetarian asks: Is there an alternative to the gelatine? Thank you.

goodfoodteam

17th Oct, 2013

You can use agar agar or kosher gelatine (usually vegan) as alternatives to standard gelatine. Check the pack details for quantities you need to use as a substitute. Hope that helps!

eh476

15th Feb, 2017

5.05

I would recommend
a) use 8 sheets of gelatine
b) wrap a moist strip of towel around the cake tin when baking (either tie it or pin it with a safety pin to keep it tight around the tin) - the moist heat will produce a flat rise on the cake so that when you put the jelly and ganache on top it won't be sliding off.

Titotitus

11th Oct, 2016

5.05

Use orange flavour essence to get a real deep flavour. Fantastic recipe

ShazzBakes

14th Jun, 2016

I made this recipe today after reading everyone's previous comments. Problems centred on slipping of the jelly disc, and consistency of ganache and jelly. I didn't have these problems, and this is what I did:
1) I used 8 leaves of gelatine instead of 6 in the jelly, and made it last night so it could chill overnight. I took it out of the fridge at the moment I was ready to put it on the cake this morning.
2) I let the cake fully cool, until cold. Putting jelly on an even slightly warm cake will make the jelly melt.
3) I used 200ml double cream, 200g dark chocolate, and 75g white chocolate for the ganache. The white chocolate ensured a soft, spreadable texture even when the ganache had fully cooled. And a fully-cooled ganache is necessary, so the jelly disc doesn't melt.
4) I didn't use apricot jam as a glue to hold the jelly. Yet I transported this by walking and nothing slid anywhere.
This is a crowd-pleasing recipe, so hopefully with a few tweaks like mine, it'll go successfully for all of you.

bernicica

21st Nov, 2013

I made this cake for my husband's birthday and it was a great success! I made the jelly the day before and it was perfect. (Tip: add the soaked gelatine to HOT orange juice, but not boiling!) The ganache was fine too. It was a very delicious and rich cake.

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